Sensex Crashes As Foreign Investors Flee To Safety

People watch Sensex on a display screen on the facade of the the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) building in Mumbai , India, Monday Feb. 17, 2014. India's Finance Minister P. Chidambaram has unveiled a conservative budget for the governmentâs remaining time in office through May in parliament. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

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Markets in India mirrored India's performance in the semifinal. Both the benchmark Sensex and Nifty fell over 2 percent on Thursday as blue chips slumped on worries foreign investors may trim positions on risk aversion after Saudi Arabia launched air strikes in Yemen.

Foreign investors have been heavy buyers of Indian shares since early 2014, making any significant exits a particular risk to Indian markets.

Disappointing corporate results have also dampened investors' optimism, which had lifted the Sensex by 30 percent in the last year. Investors had expected bolder reforms and faster movement on the Land Acquisition Bill to clear stuck infrastructure projects. That has not happened, as the bill failed to clear the Rajya Sabha.